EPL roundup: Manchester City tightens grip on first

LONDON
(AP)
–
Manchester City tightened its grip on the top spot in the English Premier League on Saturday by registering a 13th consecutive home victory, easing past Blackburn 3-0 on a day Chelsea ended its lean streak to ease pressure on manager Andre Villas-Boas.

By Andrew Yates, AFP/Getty Images

Mario Balotelli's 30th-minute tally propelled Manchester City to its 13th consecutive home win.

Mario Balotelli's 30th-minute tally propelled Manchester City to its 13th consecutive home win.

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City barely broke into a sweat at fortress Etihad Stadium to move provisionally five points clear of Manchester United, with Mario Balotelli, Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko scoring in a routine victory.

England midfielder Frank Lampard scored one goal and set up another to inspire Chelsea to a 3-0 win over Bolton, ending the team's miserable run of five straight winless games to lift it above Arsenal and provisional fourth place.

Arsenal hosts third-place Tottenham in the north London derby on Sunday, when United visits Norwich.

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City's sensational home form is allowing the side to zero in on a first English title since 1968. Not since Newcastle in 1996 has a team won as many successive home league games from the start of a season.

"People say being leader you have the pressure from those behind but I think it is the opposite," City captain Vincent Kompany said.

At the end of a week in which Carlos Tevez returned to training with City after three months of unauthorized leave, his rival strikers all scored to prove that the Argentina international will have his work cut out regaining his starting place.

Balotelli opened the scoring after 30 minutes before Aguero in the 52nd and Dzeko in the 81st added further goals against Blackburn, which is third from bottom.

"We seem to have found our form again," Kompany said. "There's no such thing as an easy game and for us to win the league we've got to do the same, week in week out."

Lampard completed Chelsea's easy win with a late volley to become the first player to score at least 10 Premier League goals in nine successive seasons. It was also the 150th league goal of his career.

He was one of three senior players, along with Ashley Cole and Michael Essien, recalled after being dropped for the 3-1 loss to Napoli in the last 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday as Villas-Boas relied on the old guard in his hour of need.

"It was important to win after all the recent disappointments," said Villas-Boas, whose job may have been untenable had Chelsea lost to a team second from bottom. "We have been trying so hard and today we managed to do a great, great game."

Brazil center back David Luiz and Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba, who went off injured late, earlier scored after a goalless first half.

"It takes a bit of weight off our shoulders to get back to winning ways," said Chelsea defender Gary Cahill, who kept a clean sheet against the club that sold him in January. "The mood in the dressing room is fantastic and we will build from here."

Terry Connor's first match in temporary charge of Wolverhampton Wanderers started disastrously with Papiss Demba Cisse and Jonas Gutierrez putting Newcastle 2-0 ahead after 18 minutes of their match at St. James' Park.

However, Matt Jarvis reduced Wolves' deficit at the start of the second half and Kevin Doyle snatched the equalizer in the 66th, denting sixth-place Newcastle's hopes of a finish in the Champions League spots and lifting Wolves out of the bottom three.

"All credit to the lads. They came out in the second half, did the same things and got their reward in the end," said Connor, who will be in charge until the end of the season.

Queens Park Rangers slipped to fourth from bottom after losing 1-0 at home to Fulham.

Pavel Pogrebnyak scored the early winner, with the hosts' chances of a comeback dashed by the sending-off of midfielder Samba Diakite in the 33rd for two yellow cards.

Sunderland, rejuvenated since Martin O'Neill's arrival as manager in December, was brought back down to earth with a 4-0 loss at West Bromwich Albion.

Wigan stays last after a 0-0 draw at home to Aston Villa, whose striker Darren Bent was carried off with an ankle injury.

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